On November 4th, Bordieri and the Bobcats were playing RPI in Troy, NY. He was chasing an Engineer down when he slipped off his man on a check and turn buckled himself between the boards and glass on the RPI bench.

The result was a ruptured spleen and four broken ribs.

Bordieri had to have his spleen removed, and was in a hospital for 12 days before finally being discharged on November 16th. “When I’m lying in a hospital bed, I’m saying to myself ‘I am never playing hockey again.’” Bordieri, however, wouldn’t let that fate befall him.

When doctors told him his season – and thus his career – was over, he told them they were wrong. “I don’t think I’ll play professionally,” Bordieri said after Tuesday night’s game. “Knowing this was my last year after 18 years of playing hockey, I wanted to give whatever I could.”

“It was definitely a big thrill for me. This place [TD Banknorth Sports Center] is unreal; three months of watching games is tough.” Bordieri said, after the Bobcats tied Harvard at 2 goals apiece. “It was probably one of the biggest accomplishments of my career, actually, just coming back from that injury.”

Bobcats coach Rand Pecknold understands Bordieri’s importance to the team. “I thought he would give us some energy,” Pecknold said. “It’s tough coming back from an injury. He’ll be a good addition to us once we get him into some more games.”

Hockey players are known for battling injuries to play the game they love. “I think all hockey players would have done the same thing, especially knowing this might be my last season,” Bordieri said.

It takes a special kind of athlete to tell a doctor “No.” Michael Bordieri, an assistant captain on this Bobcats team, is that special kind of athlete.